A drone collided with one of the watchtowers of the Tahiche Penitentiary Centre in Lanzarote. The ACAIP union denounces the lack of means to detect these flights.
Last Thursday, around 1:00 PM, a drone crashed into one of the watchtowers of the Tahiche Penitentiary Centre in Lanzarote after flying over the facilities. The device fell to the ground after the impact, according to the union section of ACAIP at the prison.
A growing problem in Canary Islands prisons
The union warns that the use of drones to introduce prohibited items into prisons constitutes a growing threat. Although these types of operations are usually carried out at night to make detection more difficult, the devices are becoming increasingly silent and hard to locate even by sound.
Among the items that these devices typically transport are drugs such as cocaine, heroin, or hashish, as well as the latest generation mobile phones. ACAIP claims that the seizure of these devices has increased exponentially in recent months.
The organization believes that this situation compromises the security of the penitentiary centre and hinders the main objective of the prison system: the re-education and social reintegration of inmates.
Additional risk due to proximity to the airport
The union emphasizes that the location of the Tahiche prison, within the area of influence and control of the César Manrique-Lanzarote Airport, adds a risk to air security. The presence of drones in that space could affect aircraft traffic, a danger that adds to the very security of the prison.
ACAIP reminds that the external surveillance of the facility is the responsibility of the Guardia Civil, while internal security falls to prison officers. However, it denounces that neither service currently has specific technological or material resources to detect or neutralize these devices.
We depend solely on direct observation to deal with these types of incidents, which is insufficient given the sophistication of current drones, the union states.
For the residents of Tahiche and the rest of Lanzarote, this incident highlights a vulnerability that transcends the prison walls. The lack of means to intercept drones not only affects the security of the centre but also generates concern in an area close to the airport, where any interference with air traffic could have serious consequences.
So far, there has been no report of the drone carrying any prohibited items, but the incident has reopened the debate on the need to equip Canary Islands prisons with anti-drone systems. In the meantime, the officers remain alert, relying on their sight and hearing to detect what technology can no longer completely conceal.
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